INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY
Social media users on platforms like Weibo and XiaoHongshu influence how tourists present themselves online. However, their impact on actual tourist behaviours at destinations remains unclear. This study explores the influence of impression management motivation and online social comparison on tou...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Editura Universităţii din Oradea
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites |
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| Online Access: | https://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-4spl-2024/gtg.574spl15-1368.pdf |
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| author | Huayu TANG Choy Leong YEE Jo Ann HO Yanning CHEN |
| author_facet | Huayu TANG Choy Leong YEE Jo Ann HO Yanning CHEN |
| author_sort | Huayu TANG |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Social media users on platforms like Weibo and XiaoHongshu influence how tourists present themselves online.
However, their impact on actual tourist behaviours at destinations remains unclear. This study explores the influence of
impression management motivation and online social comparison on tourists’ engagement in pro-environmental user-generated
content (UGC) on social media platforms in China. The research investigates how these factors impact tourists’ proenvironmental behavioural intentions (TPBI) using Virtual Goffman's Theory and Social Comparison Theory as the framework.
A survey of 716 social media users who had recent travel experiences in China was conducted to examine the psychological
mechanisms driving tourists to participate in pro-environmental activities both online and offline. The structural equation model
(SEM) results reveal that while impression management motivation did not directly influence pro-environmental UGC
engagement, its impact became significant when moderated by the frequency of social media status updates. Online social
comparison had a direct positive impact on pro-environmental travel UGC engagement, while social media stalking did not. Proenvironmental travel UGC engagement was found to be a strong predictor of pro-environmental behavioural intention. These
findings offer valuable insights into how social media interactions foster eco-conscious behaviours, highlighting the role of
impression management and online comparisons in shaping both online and offline pro-environmental actions. The study
provides implications for promoting sustainable tourism practices through social media engagement strategies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1287deae67714f33a8d34310a3ef56b4 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2065-0817 2065-1198 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Editura Universităţii din Oradea |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites |
| spelling | doaj-art-1287deae67714f33a8d34310a3ef56b42025-08-20T02:42:00ZengEditura Universităţii din OradeaGeo Journal of Tourism and Geosites2065-08172065-11982024-12-01574 supplement2005201910.30892/gtg.574spl15-1368INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORYHuayu TANG0Choy Leong YEE1Jo Ann HO2Yanning CHEN3Universiti Putra Malaysia, School of Business and Economics, Selangor, Malaysia; Huaihua University, School of Business, Hunan, China, e-mail: gs58067@student.upm.edu.myUniversiti Putra Malaysia, School of Business and Economics, Selangor, Malaysia, e-mail: yee@upm.edu.myUniversiti Putra Malaysia, School of Business and Economics, Selangor, Malaysia, e-mail: ann_hj@upm.edu.myUniversiti Putra Malaysia, School of Business and Economics, Selangor, Malaysia, e-mail: gs58063@student.upm.edu.mySocial media users on platforms like Weibo and XiaoHongshu influence how tourists present themselves online. However, their impact on actual tourist behaviours at destinations remains unclear. This study explores the influence of impression management motivation and online social comparison on tourists’ engagement in pro-environmental user-generated content (UGC) on social media platforms in China. The research investigates how these factors impact tourists’ proenvironmental behavioural intentions (TPBI) using Virtual Goffman's Theory and Social Comparison Theory as the framework. A survey of 716 social media users who had recent travel experiences in China was conducted to examine the psychological mechanisms driving tourists to participate in pro-environmental activities both online and offline. The structural equation model (SEM) results reveal that while impression management motivation did not directly influence pro-environmental UGC engagement, its impact became significant when moderated by the frequency of social media status updates. Online social comparison had a direct positive impact on pro-environmental travel UGC engagement, while social media stalking did not. Proenvironmental travel UGC engagement was found to be a strong predictor of pro-environmental behavioural intention. These findings offer valuable insights into how social media interactions foster eco-conscious behaviours, highlighting the role of impression management and online comparisons in shaping both online and offline pro-environmental actions. The study provides implications for promoting sustainable tourism practices through social media engagement strategies.https://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-4spl-2024/gtg.574spl15-1368.pdfuser-generated contentugc-induced tpbiimpression management motivationonline social comparisonsocial media stalkingsocial interaction |
| spellingShingle | Huayu TANG Choy Leong YEE Jo Ann HO Yanning CHEN INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY Geo Journal of Tourism and Geosites user-generated content ugc-induced tpbi impression management motivation online social comparison social media stalking social interaction |
| title | INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY |
| title_full | INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY |
| title_fullStr | INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY |
| title_full_unstemmed | INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY |
| title_short | INTERVENING ROLE OF TOURISTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN USER-GENERATED CONTENT ON THEIR PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOURS: A PERSPECTIVE OF VIRTUAL GOFFMAN’S THEORY |
| title_sort | intervening role of tourists engagement in user generated content on their pro environmental behaviours a perspective of virtual goffman s theory |
| topic | user-generated content ugc-induced tpbi impression management motivation online social comparison social media stalking social interaction |
| url | https://gtg.webhost.uoradea.ro/PDF/GTG-4spl-2024/gtg.574spl15-1368.pdf |
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